NJ Clean Stream
njcleanstream.org
700,000 NJ households drink from private wells — with almost no oversight
Approximately 700,000 New Jersey households drink from private wells with almost no regulatory protection. There is no mandatory testing schedule, no enforceable maximum contaminant level, and no requirement to test at any point — not when moving in, not after a nearby industrial spill. What is in your private well water is, under current New Jersey law, largely your own problem to discover.
The geography of private well use in New Jersey
Private well use is heavily concentrated in areas developed before public water infrastructure reached them. Southern New Jersey’s Coastal Plain is the largest private well region — Burlington, Ocean, Atlantic, Cumberland, Cape May, and Salem counties. The Coastal Plain aquifer system is highly productive but vulnerable, with sandy soils and shallow water tables providing relatively little natural filtration of surface-derived contaminants.
The Highlands region of Morris, Passaic, Warren, and Sussex counties is another major area. Crystalline bedrock aquifers are productive but highly variable in quality. Arsenic, radon, and hardness are common natural contaminants. Rural agricultural areas throughout Hunterdon, Salem, and Cumberland counties combine private well use with intensive agricultural land use — the conditions for nitrate and pesticide contamination. Peri-urban communities that developed rapidly in the mid-twentieth century sometimes contain pockets of private well use proximate to industrial and commercial contamination sources.
The regulatory vacuum
The Safe Drinking Water Act explicitly exempts private household wells. No federal requirement exists for private well owners to test their water. No federal MCL applies to private well water. No federal notification requirement exists if a neighboring well is contaminated. New Jersey has partially filled this vacuum through the Private Well Testing Act of 2002, which requires testing at real estate transactions — but it is far from a comprehensive solution, as Article 3 examines in detail.
What’s in NJ private wells: the documented picture
Nitrates are the most widespread confirmed contaminant in New Jersey private wells. Agricultural fertilizers and septic system effluent leach nitrate readily through South Jersey’s sandy soils. At elevated concentrations, nitrate causes methemoglobinemia — “blue baby syndrome” — in infants, potentially causing brain damage or death. For adults, chronic exposure is associated with increased colorectal cancer risk. The federal MCL is 10 mg/L; concentrations exceeding this level have been found in a significant fraction of tested wells in agricultural areas.
Arsenic occurs naturally in New Jersey’s geological formations, particularly in Highlands crystalline bedrock and certain Coastal Plain sedimentary units. Arsenic is a well-established human carcinogen — causing bladder, lung, and skin cancers at chronic exposure levels well below the federal MCL of 10 ppb. Studies of New Jersey bedrock well users have found arsenic concentrations exceeding the federal standard in a significant fraction of tested wells, with some reaching 50, 100, or more ppb.
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas produced by uranium decay in bedrock. It dissolves in groundwater and is released indoors when water is used — showering, dishwashing, laundry — contributing significantly to indoor radon levels in homes served by high-radon wells. Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, responsible for approximately 21,000 deaths annually.
Coliform bacteria signal fecal contamination from failing septic systems, agricultural animals, or deteriorated well casings. Their significance lies in what they indicate: potential presence of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and parasites capable of causing serious waterborne disease. Coliform contamination is among the most commonly detected problems in New Jersey private well transaction testing.
PFAS have been found in private wells near military installations and industrial sites. The aquifer contamination from PFAS use at military airfields and manufacturing facilities does not stop at public water system boundaries. Private well users whose wells draw from contaminated aquifer formations may be exposed to PFAS exceeding health advisory levels — without any testing requirement, notification, or mandatory remediation.
Volatile organic compounds — PERC, TCE, benzene — have been found in private wells near dry cleaning facilities, gas stations, industrial sites, and former manufacturing operations. Industrial contamination does not respect the boundary between public water service areas and private well territory.
The cost burden falls on individual homeowners
When private well contamination is found, remediation costs fall on the individual homeowner — with minimal state assistance. Point-of-use treatment for arsenic may cost $1,500–$5,000. Whole-house treatment for VOC contamination may cost significantly more. Well rehabilitation can cost thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. For a lower-income rural resident who discovers contamination with no responsible party to pursue for cost recovery, the financial burden of obtaining clean drinking water can be crushing. NJ Clean Stream is advocating for state financial assistance programs for private well remediation that currently do not exist at meaningful scale.
A path forward: what NJ Clean Stream is advocating for
- Mandatory periodic testing of all private wells on a fixed schedule — not more than every five years — with results reported to the county board of health and accessible through a public database.
- Expanded testing panels that include PFAS, 1,4-dioxane, radon, and other emerging contaminants not covered by current transaction testing requirements.
- State financial assistance for remediation — a New Jersey Private Well Remediation Assistance Fund providing grants to low-income households for treatment installation and well rehabilitation.
- Notification requirements when contamination is found near a community, so that neighboring well owners can test proactively.
- Meaningful enforcement of existing Private Well Testing Act requirements that are currently honored inconsistently.
This is Article 1 of 3. Article 2 provides a practical contaminant-by-contaminant guide for private well owners — what to test for, what the numbers mean, and what treatment works. Article 3 examines the specific gaps in New Jersey’s Private Well Testing Act and the policy changes needed to fix them.